Ready or not . . . . .

Late yesterday afternoon, I got a call from my midwife saying that we are going to induce at week 37! This was amazing news for me, and an answer to prayer! Now when I first thought about having a baby, this sounded like terrible news, as I have always wanted to naturally go into labor on my own and hopefully have the baby without any drugs or interventions at all.....but....

Several weeks ago, I started itching like crazy, especially on the bottoms of my feet. When I mentioned this to my midwife and told her it was keeping me up at night, she said she wanted to test me for Cholestasis of Pregnancy. It is a liver condition that can develop due to the increase in hormones of pregnancy. It didn't sound that bad when she explained it, until I asked her if the baby was at risk. She then told me that she didn't want to freak me out, but she knew I would be able to find it on Google, so she wanted to be honest with me. Cholestasis has been known to cause fetal death, or still born babies, especially in the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy - WHOA - not what I was expecting to hear just because my skin was itching. 

That day they ran blood work, and told me that it would take a week and they would let me know. The nurse called me the next week and told me that my numbers were in the normal range but that they wanted me to come in and test again. So I did, and this time, they decided to go ahead and start me on the medication they would use if I were to test positive. This would be a good indicator for them if I responded well to the medicine. 

I started it the next day and within 48 hours, my itching was about 90% better! That was a huge relief for me, that itching was really making me feel crazy, my skin constantly felt like it was on fire! Again, the test results came back in the normal range, but I continued on the medication.

When I saw my midwife again this week, she asked how the medicines were working and told me she was going to talk to a specialist to see what they said. The problem is that until you test positive for Cholestasis, or until the doctors can positively say that you have it, insurance companies will not pay for early induction, and hospitals will not allow it either. {And early induction is very important if Cholestasis exists because of the risk of losing the baby} But Heather, my midwife, said she was pretty sure that is what I have.

That night, I cried myself to sleep, while my sweet husband just held me and told me it was all going to be okay. I was so worried about our baby, and didn't want to have to carry full term, for fear of losing our lil pumpkin! We prayed a lot that God would continue to protect and grow our baby!

Yesterday afternoon, Heather called and said that the specialist had told her that because my symptoms had been so severe and the medicine had helped so significantly, they are going to say that I for sure have Cholestasis. I will start getting weekly sonograms with the specialsit, to check to fluids around the baby and to monitor the growth, and at 37 weeks they will induce. She told me she didn't want this to panic me, and with a HUGE sigh of relief, I told her this was really great news!

I love how the Lord uses all circumstances in our lives to teach us, grow us, mold us, and ultimately draw us nearer to Himself. This has been a really great sanctification process for me, as it has stripped me even more from my own self. When I first heard of the possibility of having to induce early, I really had a hard time letting go of 'my' plans {which seemed good to me - that was the way God had intended it afterall} and really see that this child is His and He has given doctors the wisdom and knowledge to help protect our baby. At this point I have been able to fully let go of my plans and am so grateful that lil pumpkin will be watched and will be here before we know it! In the end, it is not going to matter that I had interventions, and didn't carry this baby full term, because this is God's plan and His plans are always far greater than our own. 

I know this is only the first of a lifetime of lessons as we become parents and daily learn that this child is not our own, only on loan to us from our Father. I cannot imagine the many great ways the Lord will use parenting to show us more about His love for us, and to teach us that we must FULLY TRUST HIM with everything!

And here is another sneak peek into the nursery....We are hard at work getting the final details in place now that we know we have about a month left! 

Week 32

I cannot believe it is already week 32! 

A HUGE majority of people are voting BOY, but I am still thinking girl!  

{I have even had people tell me they pray for our baby by our boy name - so sweet}

 Here is a sneak peak at a few of the things we have been working on in the nursery:: 

We are making most of the stuff for the nursery, including the bedding - I cannot wait for it to all be done! 

I am hoping by the end of this week to be almost fully done with the nursery!!!!! 

Going Chemical Free(ish)

My husband gets really bad allergies, so a few years ago I decided I would do a little research on things that I could be doing to help him out. I stumbled upon some blogs about chemical free living-which at the time was a completely foreign idea to me! I decided that I wanted to try this, within reason and slowly switching things over. Nothing too drastic, but just trying to do more homemade cleaners and illuminating some of the chemicals from our home! I also decided this would be a lot more budget friendly which sold me even more! 

My first homemade cleaner was laundry detergent - which we loved from the first time I made it and have never used store bought detergent again! 

Well one day several months later, I found the cleaning section at Dollar Tree a little too appealing and I bought a lot of household cleaners! As I began to use them, i realized I didn't really like the way any of them smelled, even noticed getting headaches when cleaning, and decided that as soon as I ran out of that supply, i was going to start making my own. 

One evening, while trying to finish up some all-purpose cleaner, it splashed in my eye {OUCCCCHHH!!!} and I ended up in a Walk - In clinic with an entire IV being drained through my eye. We had called poison control and after describing the symptoms and after flushing it with water for an hour - they suggested us go to the ER.

That was all it took to officially end my relationship with store bought cleaners. Especially knowing that there will soon be a little one running around the house - I couldn't stand the thought of him/her getting into any of those chemicals! I emptied every bottle of my Dollar Tree cleaners that next day and began making my own.

I have experimented a lot with different recipes and will continue to, but this was my first All-Purpose cleaner that I made, and I have really liked it! 

I have read that it is better to buy new bottles that have not had chemicals in them at all, but for me it made the most sense to just clean the bottles I already had and let them soak in hot water for a few hours then air dry. I figured that was good enough! 

 I painted over that label, {wanting no reminders of the lovely effects of chemical cleaners} and wrote down exactly what I had put in the bottle! This ended up being very helpful when I ran out, I knew exactly what to put back in.

I am not a huge fan of the smell of vinegar, however, I am getting more used to it and the essential oils really do help. I have noticed that pretty much as soon as the solution has dried, I don't smell the vinegar and everything feels super clean and the only scent that is left is from the essential oils!

I have mostly used this in the kitchen, but a few times in the bathrooms as well.

I have a lot of other cleaners I want to try and will hopefully be doing soon! 

Shutters turned Head Board

These fabulous shutters were hidden the back corner of an antique store behind some other furniture. We got them uncovered and got to look at them and fell in love! They were exactly what I had been looking for for a headboard for our bed! 

Because the paint was chipping off and very weathered, I wanted to seal them somehow without losing the look that I loved! After a little research, we decided on this Rust-olium spray. We did two coats and it really sealed the paint off, it has not really chipped at all since we hung them several months ago! 

This was before! (After seeing this old post, I see how even this was a HUGE improvement-I had forgotten how bland it was before we painted)

J figured out where the studs on the wall were and drilled some 1x2's on the back to align with the studs!

We got them both hung!

And I love the final outcome!!! We ordered some new pillow cases with some Anthropologie gift cards we had left over from the wedding and our bed was finally complete! 

Must do for Fall!

In honor of October first, I thought I would write a post about some of our favorite things to do in the fall! We love fall, I don't think I know anyone who doesn't! So here are some of our favorite things to do that make fall even that much better!!! 

1. Visit a pumpkin patch - even if you don't have kids! 

2. Sit outside on a cool afternoon and enjoy your fall drink of choice! 

{This is my favorite homemade fall drink}

3. Watch at least one football game, or go to one if you can! Even if you don't like sports, chose a team and cheer em on!

4. Walk a college campus. Find a college campus near you and just take a stroll - the atmosphere is contageous and one of my favorite things to enjoy in the fall, especially if it happens to be in Norman, Ok!

5. Find a street or a park with gorgeous foleage and take a long walk, with the only intention being to soak up the changing colors and enjoy the cool breeze. Take a picnic along and enjoy it even longer!

6. Buy a fall scented candle and fill your house with its yumminess! These are some of my favorites! (i'm slightly addicted to the smell of fall)

7. Buy a pumpkin!

8. Eat at least one bag of Candy Corn! (I say bag to make myself feel better, I am so addicted and cannot stop once I start)

9. Have a cookout with friends!

10. Build a bonfire! Roast marshmallows!

11. Paint your nails a 'fun' fall color!

12. Enjoy every day that it doesn't reach 90 outside! For us Texan's thats a big deal and definitly something to be celebrated!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Coffee at Home

I get as eager as anyone for that first day that Starbucks has their Pumpkin Spice available! But, I wanted to learn how to make something similar at home, a little more healthy, and a little less sweet! And this has become my daily cup this fall!!! 

1. Start with your favorite coffee! 

2. Add the grinds to the filter (Can also be done in a K-cup)

3. Add Cinnamon, and if you want Pumpkin Pie Spice! 

4. While it brews, I zap my milk in the microwave!

5. That's it! 

6. I also do this with my K-cup filler. I just add the cinnamon and or pumpkin pie spice before I put the lid on! It is so easy and adds just the right amount of flavor! And because the flavors are brewed with the coffee it mixes a lot better than adding the flavors after it has already brewed! 

Fall

I don't know anyone who doesn't love fall and really look forward to that first day where it feels like fall outside - when pumpkin spice makes its return, all the yummy fall scents hit the candle isles and of course football!! 

My fall decorating started with a trip to Hobby Lobby, only to return home and realize I had bought almost all the same stuff last year in the after season clearance sale. I returned the items and went to Dollar Tree to see if they had anything different and found a lot of stuff to compliment what I already had! 

A few of the details: 

• A cupcake holder with a sparkly pumpkin on dry beans. 
• The vase and all the decor came from Dollar Tree, I just added a little gold paint to the leaves to make them stand out a little more! 

This frame came from a flea market and I had been looking for the perfect place to use it! I started to make a wreath for the front door and decided the frame would be more fun! I bought the sign at Hobby Lobby for .99 and painted it with some paint I had at the house!  I had saved the yellow yarn from an Anthro gift I had received and drilled two holes in the sign and there it was! I used floral wire to attach the flower pieces and then just added the burlap ribbon bow! It was so much fun and ubber simple to make! 

The vases on this table came from Dollar Tree as well as the pumpkins! I cut up an old coffee bag on some books to set the center piece on! Again, super cheap and a lot of fun! {I will admit that the first bag of candy corns ended up all eaten and I had to buy another bag, but goodness they were delicious}

I got this chair for free at a garage sale last fall and decided to use it as part of my fall decorations this year! I had this small canvas with a eurpoean painting on it but had never used it so decided to just paint over it! I also wanted a burlap pumpkin so I decided to try to make one! 
I took a small bucket we had left over from our wedding and put newspaper all round it! I used the other side of the coffee bag and bunched it up around the newspaper! I took safety pins and pinned, from the inside, so that it stayed bunched up then put a rubberband around the top! I found a piece of bark out of our yard and used it for the 'stem'! 

I got this shutter at a garage sale last year and decided to paint it using Annie Sloan chalk paint! (this was my first experiment with the paint and I fell in love) I had it as my centerpiece on the table, but once the table got a facelift for fall, I decided to use it here! I have been collecting acorns from our yard and adding them to the small floaral arrangement! I had found the green and orange mini gourds at Dollar Tree, but adding the acorns makes it look a lot richer! 

These branches came from Dollar Tree and I wrapped part of a coffee bean bag around an oatmeal container! 

I have almost completely burned through 2 candles since I got it all decorated. I just love the smell of fall!